


2. Fandom Friends

by Crimson1



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bad Puns, Dorks in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, but only in the fanfiction and art they create
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 22:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5888242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crimson1/pseuds/Crimson1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry and Len both create tumblr and AO3 accounts as they delve deeper into ColdFlash. Len writes smut. Barry draws fanart, and occasionally writes romance. As it turns out, they really enjoy the company of each other's online personas since they 'get' Cold and Flash so well - WithColdOnTop and NerdsDoItBetter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	2. Fandom Friends

Barry typed out his user name for Tumblr again. 

**TalkNerdyToMe**

He stared at it for a moment. Deleted it. 

**Lichtenberg…**

No, too obvious. Sure, plenty of people in the fandom had names that were related to Captain Cold or The Flash or other characters—real people, but also, seriously, quite the characters—that Flash had encountered, but Barry still worried he’d do something to give himself away. Which was why this was a terrible, terrible idea. 

**Forensics…**

Nope. Now he was being too obvious about his day job self. He thought back to that first one. Not bad, close…but something was missing. 

He considered his favorite aspects of the fandom, of the ColdFlash shippers and their intense obsession and passion for two strangers they’d never met but still wrote as if they were part of their lives. 

While discovering the fandom from Iris and Linda had led Barry’s mind mostly straight to…sex between him and his nemesis, and some of the sex Barry had read was amazing—which in the beginning he’d shied away from, really, tried to avoid, but…but the writers were so GOOD, Barry found himself sneaking peeks more and more often—it wasn’t the sex that left him sighing in giddy contentedness at the end of a fic. It was when the writer pushed it to be something…more. 

Barry knew he was a hopeless romantic, emphasis on the hopeless part. Always either falling for people who didn’t want him, or trying to be with someone who didn’t make his heart race the way he’d always dreamed of feeling with the love of his life. Somewhere along the line those two things had to come together into one person. 

And of course he didn’t think for a second that person would ever be Leonard Snart. But wow, some of these writers, the way they tried to get into Snart’s head—succeeding sometimes in pegging him quite well actually—and the way every so often, even with no one knowing Barry’s real identity, they could characterize HIM almost right…made him believe for the few minutes or hours he was reading a good fic that the emotions written there could be real. 

He and Snart did banter quite a bit. And sure, to an onlooker it might seem like subtle flirting—it wasn’t, couldn’t actually be—but the seeds were there obviously if so many fans saw it, saw how it could be nurtured into something else. 

Barry was such trash for this ship after only a few weeks of giving in and reading some of the fics, perusing art when no one was around to catch him—and he knew he had to watch like a hawk for Iris because she would never let him live this down if she knew he looked into the fandom regularly now. He was also supremely grateful that he’d never asked if either she or Linda had an alias online, which they so obviously did, because the last thing he needed was to read a hot fic and realize it was written by his best friend. 

He tried not to think about that. The point was…he loved the romance that could build from the tension in a fight scene. How someone could take his encounters with Snart and suddenly they wouldn’t be fighting anymore but opening up to each other. 

Barry knew Snart was a good man, deep down, past the snark and bravado, past the criminal element that really was just stealing for the most part, at least since their deal. Snart cared deeply. Barry had seen that with Lisa, when Len had risked so much for her, done more than Barry wished he had, but of all the people Barry mourned, Lewis Snart wasn’t one of them. 

The potential was there for Len to be good. And a few of the writers saw that too, or at least decided to play that angle to make romance a possibility between hero and villain. Those were the fics Barry loved. 

What annoyed him, even though he still read his fair share, was that almost all, literally nearly every single fic with sex in it…had Snart topping. Which Barry had no hang-ups over. He’d explored…that. Privately with his hands and toys. In college with a few—very few—partners. But these shippers seemed to have a thing for his nemesis dominating him and well…Barry could be dominating too! He totally exuded swagger when in the suit. Didn’t he? He tried to, to project confidence when facing his enemies, but apparently the fans of ColdFlash saw things differently.

The fact that his own personal fantasies starred him and Snart as top or bottom about 50/50 was beside the point. He just thought the fandom could see things a little more like that. Though some of the way those writers depicted Snart bending him over surfaces or pressing him to walls were…

Okay, Barry was getting distracted. He opened another Tumblr tab and typed in the ColdFlash tag, surfing through other names that came up. 

Huh. That one was new. Figured too. 

**WithColdOnTop**

It never ended. 

Then it hit Barry, and he grinned as his own screen name came to him. He clicked back to his previous tab, typed in his Tumblr alias and finally, finally finished creating it. 

**NerdsDoItBetter**

Perfect. 

Then he clicked back over to WithColdOnTop, because the description for the fic this person had just posted sounded seriously hot. 

XXXXX

Len blamed his foray into fanfiction writing on not being able to find enough fics that told the type of stories he wanted to read. He wanted more. Wanted certain…elements to the stories. Wanted to add some fine tuning to the way these people portrayed him. 

That’s what he told himself when he started writing his first fic. That if he was going to make up an encounter between him and The Flash that hadn’t actually happened, he’d be able to convey their personalities much better than these amateurs. 

Though to be fair many of them were rather gifted. They just missed the nuances. Lacked a cohesive identity for Flash and Cold. Besides, Len really hated all of the fake names these people made up for Barry. They might as well be calling him John Smith. 

So when Len’s first fic steered the natural route from playful banter to sex as The Flash attempted to foil one of his heists, and he played up that Cold already knew Flash’s identity—since he did, though most fics assumed he didn’t, and delved into Flash revealing his identity in some elaborate way, or just ignored that entirely and had them fucking so hard, the mask was bound to come off—he stuttered on what to type for the kid’s name for only a moment. It lent itself naturally as a pun when he wrote himself saying…

_“Offering me a ride, Flash? Somehow I think you’d rather I gave you one…Ryder.”_

Len grinned. Barry would hate that pun. Loathe it. 

Len loved it instantly. 

He set a few ground rules for himself. No nicknames. Those had never been recorded by the media, or a cell phone, so he wasn’t about to share. Only Flash. And Ryder. No one knew the Flash’s age, so ‘kid’ would be too obvious. Speaking of age, Len kept it general, didn’t bring it up, since most people placed Flash in his thirties, not knowing what a young thing he really was. He figured he could risk the real hazel eyes, as someone was bound to capture those eventually, and they were visible through the cowl. And what the hell, Len would risk making Ryder brunette too. Most of the fandom considered him blond, and that was fine, Len would simply say he wanted to try for something…different. 

No other details other than how he knew Barry really talked and moved when they crossed paths would enter his fics, but it was the little things, the subtleties Len was after. This fandom needed to be schooled on just how Captain Cold would seduce the Scarlet Speedster. And how Ryder would moan under his touch. 

Len hadn’t written creatively, for fun in…since he was a boy. A waste of time, his father would say, before dragging him along to the newest heist he had planned, and forcing Len, even as a child to get his hands dirty—usually quite literally thanks to the dexterous size of his young fingers. But there was no more Lewis to call him out on things he wanted, on how he chose to spend his time, or who he chose to spend it with. Oh writing fanfiction was hardly something Captain Cold should be stooping to, but then…this was clearly an underappreciated art form. And Len had always been a connoisseur of the arts. 

_Ryder’s hips arched up into Cold’s ungloved hand as he palmed him inside the suit, the jacket to The Flash suit unzipped and open, the pants so very ready to come off, but Cold liked the way Ryder writhed against him in the confined space of the leather, his hand trapped there, moving with only meager friction that had to be driving the younger man wild—if his moans were any indication._

_“Please, Cold…please…”_

Len could almost hear Barry’s voice forming those words, in that whining, pleading tone. 

Oh yes, he could get used to this. 

XXXXX

Barry’s jaw was on the floor. Finally, finally someone had captured Flash and Cold almost to perfection, so believably that Barry’s breath hitched at how easily his mind strayed and envisioned the scenario playing out for real. If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost think this person knew them. 

He seriously hoped it wasn’t Linda or Iris. 

And sure, okay, WithColdOnTop obviously had Cold topping—and Ryder for Flash’s name, seriously?—but Barry’s mild annoyance that that was almost always the norm aside, it was hot as hell. Barry had to shift in his chair several times to keep from, well, having to take care of the steadily growing problem he was having while reading it. But wow. 

Barry bookmarked the fic. Left kudos with his newly minted AO3 pseudonym, also NerdsDoItBetter, and tried to muster up the courage to write a review. The fic seriously deserved comments. All the comments. But what could Barry say? Congrats on writing the great sex? I’m hard while I sit here reading it? Oh god, that would be so embarrassing, people didn’t actually write things like that, did they?

He settled on…

_This was amazing! Best portrayals of Flash and Cold yet. Just how I imagine them. Great job!_

Neutral but still praising. Maybe it would influence the writer to do more, because Barry was definitely going to be following this person’s work from now on. And their Tumblr page. 

He should go to bed now. Get some real sleep. He’d already been up late patrolling before this. But his mind was buzzing from that fic. And he really needed to do something with his hands so he didn’t…do SOMETHING with his hands. It would just be too weird to jerk off after reading about him and Cold. Wouldn’t it?

He thought about writing. He’d started several fics of his own, before deleting them, or saving them but leaving them unfinished, feeling like an idiot for how overly cheesy he was most of the time. He just couldn’t get the words out of him, get the right tone, or…well, mostly it was trying to think up good puns for Snart, because he was damned good at that. 

Top had been amazing with that part especially, like seriously, Snart could have taken lessons from this writer on puns. Maybe Top would have some good advice for Barry…

Nah. No way. Maybe another time. 

Instead he reached for his sketchbook. The art for the ColdFlash fandom had some pretty good people, some more realistic in their style, others cutesy and silly. One of his favorites was actually a sketchy looking super deformed picture of Snart in his Cold gear, hood up, big grin on his face, holding the gun, just looking…adorable, which made Barry giggle, because Snart being cuddly and adorable was worth a good laugh. He’d saved that picture right away, carefully hidden in a folder even Iris wouldn’t find if she searched his computer. 

Barry tried to think of what he’d like to see drawn though, and it was something more…real than that. He had to be careful not to draw his own face, either keeping Flash generic or not showing his face at all. So he went the safer route and started to draw himself from behind. Just from the waist up. Hand outstretched, gripping Snart by the front of his sweater. His hood back, but goggles still on…yeah. But instead of looking angry or ready to fight, Snart had that damnable smirk on his face that Barry loved/hated, and was leaning forward intent…on a kiss. 

Barry finished the drawing in only seconds with his speed. Spent a little more time fine-tuning the work at normal pace, but…wow, when he was done, he almost crumpled it up and threw it away, because shit. If anyone ever found this, he would be so screwed. 

Instead, he scanned it in, kept it in his sketchbook, which he hid in the deepest recesses of his closet, and posted it to Tumblr. 

XXXXX

NerdsDoItBetter. Cute. 

Len favorited the artist’s picture post. It was well done. Clearly someone who had studied his photos and footage of him on TV closely. He decided to reblog the picture too. Other ColdFlash artists were fairly impressive as well, but this one…this one had captured him better than any others. 

He clicked on Nerd and decided to see what else this shipper was up to. By the time Len stumbled upon threads of headcanons and people discussing Captain Cold’s character and true motivations, and saw how Nerd insinuated himself always to Cold’s defense when something negative surfaced, Len had started to follow the kid’s blog. 

Clearly, NerdsDoItBetter, had promise. 

XXXXX

**nerdsdoitbetter**  
_your last fic inspired my new fanart so…just asking if I can tag you?_

Barry felt like a complete moron. Sure, Top had started to follow him back, had reblogged every fanart he’d done, and commented on several of them. He also always, always replied to reviews on AO3 with a concise but eloquent charm. He’d even helped Barry with coming up with puns and dialogue when he finally got up the nerve to leave him an inbox message, working on his own more romantic fanfiction. They’d headcanoned a few times too! But somehow this felt different. 

This person was some fan out in Central City who wrote about The Flash and Captain Cold having amorous sex all over the streets, and in buildings, once on top of a police cruiser, and…Barry was The Flash! He should not be nervous as if he was the one who needed approval. Yet he felt that way anyway. 

He almost clicked out of the browser, afraid he’d sit there waiting for a response for minutes on end before eventually realizing Top wasn’t going to respond, but then…

**withcoldontop**  
_I’d be honored. May I have a sneak peek?_

Barry thrummed with excitement. 

**nerdsdoitbetter**  
_Sure!_

He sent the link to where he’d initially uploaded the picture, anxious to hear Top’s reaction. It was a close-up of Flash and Cold in the afterglow of, well, some pretty fantastically written sex, but all fluff for Barry’s part. Just their faces, Barry’s obscured of course, turned into Snart, the back of his head showing, which he tried not to make too obviously HIS head, but…also maybe let the hair be close enough, tousled but still potentially him if you knew what to look for, as he and Cold pressed their foreheads together. Cold smiled almost sweetly, but with a little of the usual smirk. The edges of the fur of the hood of the parka could be seen, since the fic had them snuggled under it after their romp. He loved that idea. Loved that idea a little more than he cared to admit. 

He hoped Top liked it, since it had come directly from his fic, that sweet moment after the sex that just made Barry…he couldn’t explain it. But he assumed this was how the whole fandom felt, and why these people loved it so much. He just felt lighter, happier, living vicariously through this fictitious version of himself. The version that got to have things Barry only dreamed about. 

**withcoldontop**  
_Breathtaking. You have a real knack. And well timed._

**nerdsdoitbetter**  
_well timed?_

**withcoldontop**  
_Just about to post something inspired by one of your older pieces._

A link led to a picture Barry had done of Snart in street clothes in an alley, one fashioned after, but not too close to Saints and Sinners. He’d wanted to do himself in street clothes too, but…couldn’t bring himself to risk it, knew it would be too easy to draw himself like his REAL self, so he used the Flash suit instead. He’d drawn Snart’s expression open and raw for once, no smirk, closer to how Barry had seen it after everything that happened with Snart’s father. Needy. Broken. Flash touching his face to show he cared, to show Snart that he could be open with him. It was one of the more emotional pieces Barry had done. 

He couldn’t believe Top had written a fic based on THAT one. Top, who mostly did sex. 

**withcoldontop**  
_Quid pro quo. We tag each other?_

**nerdsdoitbetter**  
_YES, OMG, YES!! what did you write from this?_

**withcoldontop**  
_You’ll see._

Barry posted his picture. Tagged Top. Then waited. When the fic link came through to ‘Past and Present’, he couldn’t click it fast enough, speed force be damned. 

And it was…not what Barry had expected. Well, the sex was. Flash dragging Snart into that alley after catching on to some planned heist, but finding Snart not up to the usual banter. Withdrawn. Trying to keep up his usual persona, but failing. And Flash could tell he wasn’t his usual self, pushed, as Barry would have, as Barry HAD when trying to get Snart to come clean about what was going on working with his father. 

Flash zipped them out of there to his own apartment—Barry liked that the fics gave him his own place, since obviously no one knew he lived with his adopted father—and they proceeded to have some of the more emotionally driven sex Top had ever written. Still with Cold topping—of course. But that was part of the point. Flash giving over all of his trust to Snart was what opened him up. 

And wow. Top explored things Barry had only imagined, knowing as he did what Snart’s upbringing had been like, what Lisa had told them, and Top obviously assumed that Snart, being a criminal, must have had a hard life. The things he detailed were so…raw. And so likely to be close to the truth, that Barry felt himself half believing this was a true admission, like this exchange between him and Cold had actually happened. 

If only Snart would open up like this, had when Barry pushed back then. Barry would have been just as understanding as Ryder. It really lent itself to the narrative of Snart being capable of changing, which Barry was always an advocate and vocal proponent of. He didn’t want, or necessarily believe it was possible for Snart to give up being a thief, but be a good person? He could be that. He was a good person under the guile and goggles. 

And Top had captured that perfectly. 

**nerdsdoitbetter**  
_wow. thank you. so amazing. poor Cold. ;_; I really feel for him in this. I’m sure, if this happened, Flash would react exactly as you’ve written him._

**withcoldontop**  
_Wouldn’t that be something?_


End file.
